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"ya’ over the hill son!"

Hip-hop is a relatively young genre of music, geared toward a young, hip audience. Anyone can listen to it, even partake in a freestyle battle or two, but by all means, RAPPING is a young man’s game.With the exception of Jay-Z and few other hip-hop veterans, rappers are getting younger and younger. I am roughly the same age as some of the highest earning rappers in the industry and even older than many!

A far fetched dream has become an attainable reality for pre adolescent boys and girls world wide. Now, if your 35 and on your myspace page it says “rapper” under occupation and you don’t have an album, record deal or even a fan base..put the mic down pops.

Almost everyone aspires to achieve a certain level of stardom. Women would like to be models and actresses. Guys want to be ball players, actors, some fancy a career in rapping. In the ‘hood, in particular, almost every dude has dreams of becoming a rapper. The glitz, the glamour, women and fast cars all appeal to a young man. Many try to achieve greatness investing all of their time and most of their life to the cause, but when is it time to hang up the mic?

Its okay to have dreams, and don’t let me crush them. That doesn’t mean dreams aren’t meant to be crushed at all. As a teen some of these “over the hill” MC’s should have developed a fall back plan somewhere along the line. No woman wants to be sitting there chatting amongst friends and when asked what her man does say ” oh, my baby’s a rapper” and if she can’t provide any record label information or any sort of credentials its not because she’s being humble, its because he’s a nobody. Don’t be surprised if her girls counter with the follow up question of “nah seriously, what does he do for real” or “isn’t he like 35? “

Now let’s say this nearly middle aged man has talent. Who would want to sign someone his age unless they want use him as gimmick. If you have a seemingly “baby” face and look considerably young for 35, then hey, give it a shot. But if once in the game you start to go prematurely gray and begin wearing high dress socks with shorts, we are all going to figure out you’re not 22.

At the current state of our economy, we can’t afford to hold on to *pipe dreams. Pipe dreams won’t pay the bills and provide for a family. I understand, I too love music so I comprehend someone continuing to reach for that greatness in which they admire so much. But when things aren’t going according to plan sometimes you have to jump ship.

So for some of the older MC’s who considered a second option, use that degree you obtained when you realized that you just might not make it. For those who swore to the high heavens that they would “get rich or die trying” and continuously sacrificed themselves in order too “blow up son”…once again drop the mic, maybe get a city job??-Rasean